Pages

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Many years ago, I fell into the NARS Orgasm lipgloss hype and purchased it when it first came onto the market. The promo pics were gorgeous, and apparently it's meant to look good on everyone. Well, it may look good on everyone, but not me. It was way too warm on my skin, so that was so disappointing. Well Kiko Super Gloss 105 looks a lot more hot pink in the tube, but once applied, it is exactly what I wanted Orgasm NARS lipgloss to do for me but didn't. The lipgloss is a pink/peach lipgloss with gold shimmer, so I'm going to make the bold statement that this would suit everyone.

The lipgloss has a slight vanilla scent like the MAC lipglosses. It also has a slightly flexible tip so that the application is smooth. Overall, I'm very pleased with this product from this Italian makeup range.

I'm on a roll here baby!! Next up is the Kiko soft touch blush in 05 Bright Peach. I have to say that the packaging on these blushes are far more luxurious than the others. It's a very nice gold packaging with a modern design on the front. I do like this, because it really makes this a piece you would be proud of to pull out of your makeup bag.

Just like the eye shadows, the blushes have tons of fall out as well. Such a waste of product really. This blush applies very sheer, but can be built up. The brush that comes with the blush is absolutely useless. It doesn't pick up the blush at all.

As nice as the gold packaging is, I really thought their lilac box to be slightly tacky. It takes away from the packaging in my opinion, but it's just a box I'll toss anyways.

Colourwise, this is gorgeous and it reminds me of the shades from Chanel, so I'm very happy to have this in my collection now. I just fear that with all the fall out, it will go very quickly.

I am struggling to post today. I don't know what it is. I think it's just a symptom of lethargic, boredom, and just overall weird feeling. I had these insane dreams, and woke up in a funk. The sun didn't come out much so that didn't help. I am struggling haha, but I really really really want to show you guys these Kiko products, so I am going to march on!

I had major fall out with this eyeshadow, so I had to use primer and I also protected my face from the fall out. That was slightly disappointing, but I loved how sheer this eyeshadow was once I blended it out on my eyes. The packaging says "highly pigmented", but I don't believe this is as pigmented as others (i.e. Inglot). It's a nice eyeshadow, and soft to the touch, but the fall out will make this eyeshadow go pretty fast.

Other than that, it's a lovely colour that you can build the intensity of, so that is a very good bonus. You can pull this colour off for day time by blending it out or layering it for a dark evening smokey eye look. I'm glad I decided to swap for this colour.

I don't know if you all feel this way about makeup naming conventions, but I hate the number system. This is #255. It's basically a beautiful eggplant purple with holo glitter that runs within it. It reminds me a lot of Gosh's Gasoline.

I'll do a proper NOTD on this polish once the sun decides to appear, but I wanted to do a quick swatch and some quick photos before the sun went down.

The application was fine. I had no issues with it, but it does have a gritty texture. Nothing that a little topcoat can't fix however.

blurry picture to show you the glitter

I'm hoping that Superdrugs puts Gasoline on sale like they did with Blue Monday, so that I can get you some comparison photos of these two.

I love trying new brands! I mean it's really really fun for me, so when I had a chance to do this swap with a lovely MUA'er, I jumped on the chance. Nothing was going to stop me from doing this swap lol not even the infamous Italian customs.

I will be doing individual posts on each of these items, so watch this space.

The haul included:

* Soft Touch Blush in 05 Bright Peach

* Shimmering Eyeliner 02 (gold)

* Super Gloss in 105

* Eyeshadow in 91

* Nail Polish in #255 and #270

I'm so excited to show you all these products. I know these are mid-range priced products and easily available in Italy, but for me these are brand spanking new and hard for me to get. So keep a look out, I'm going to "play" with these now and get back to you all about how they worked out for me.

Ok Ok It's not really a farm, but I'm currently staying with my in laws and they have a love for gardening. They don't have a lot of land at all, in fact it's just a tiny backyard, but what they do with the space is just amazing. So I wanted to share with you just the amazing little patches they have. This summer has been filled with fresh, organic raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cucumbers, courgettes, cabbage, lettuce, leeks, beans, tomato's, and fresh eggs from the chickens. It's really admirable since I can't even grow herbs in my kitchen properly :X

Leeks and the Chickens :)

Courgettes, Beans, and lettuce

Random flower, gorgeous colour

Tomato's! This is only 1 row, there are 4

Raspberries in full bloom

AND...Doggie Spam

Oscar refused to look in the camera. He was being a "brat"...big shocker lol

Anyways, there is something to really say about being self sufficient and growing your own food. I really admire what they do. I'm the type of city girl to run from a bee, but they definitely know what they are doing on their "farm" :)

Hope you're all having a fabulous Tuesday!

If you haven't already, swing by my blog giveaway. It is going on for another week.

And keep your eyes peeled for the next giveaway starting at 75 followers!! It's going to be a really spectacular one!

I plan on doing their very often, so don't forget to tell your friends xx

Monday, August 29, 2011

If you are a nail fanatic, then you know that the classic french manicure (nude with the white tip) has been very passe over the last few years. Everyone has done the different colour tip to spin the classic french around. A few days ago, I saw Sophy Robson has done a new take on the french manicure. If you don't know Sophy Robon, definitely google her. She is coined the Nail Queen for a reason!

Last night I tried to do her new manicure, but failed, because a lot of my nails are not in the long pointy shape that the new manicure needs.

Basically my thumb and a few nails were too short and too round to pull off the thin curving smile tip of the new french manicure. It's suppose to just grace the tips and create a "smile", but instead I just look like I have a thin french manicure line.

It's suppose to look like this:

Images taken from sophyrobson.com

You see how the edge of the tip goes deep down. I'm going to have to wait to get a nail brush in order to get it down that deep, but how fab is that?!?!

Anyways, so with my failed "new" manicure, I decided to do something else to it to liven it up.

Just played around with the tips.

I'm loving the grey and blue combo.

I used Rescue Beauty Lounge's Stormy and Illamasqua's Phallic.

Today I'm giving my nails a rest. All this acetone is making my cuticles hard as a rock. So I'm not going to do anymore nail photos, but it's going to be time for cuticle pampering.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

This is one of those products that I didn't think I would like, but boy was I wrong.

The YSL Baume D'ete tinted lip balm came part of my massive makeup lot that I was talking about a few days ago. It was the least alluring of all the products, but slowly it has become my favourite. I think initially I was put off by the "slightly too brown" colour, but on my lips, it was anything but brown. It gave me a gorgeous nude gloss that highlighted my pink lips. It is very nourishing and moisturising as well.

Also it says lip balm, but if you're like me, you are expecting a thick consistency. This item is more like a lipgloss texture, so it's really easy to wear.

This lip balm ranges anywhere from £8-£18 online and on ebay :) I highly recommend it for those who want a lipgloss that is not sticky. This is really lovely ladies.

These all were complete failures for me. Some just didn't work, and others were poorly constructed. Either way, for one reason or another, I highly advise against purchasing these. I understand they are very cheap, but save the money :)

This is my first time using an E.L.F. lipstick, despite having tried several other ELF products. I just don't know how this company does it. They provide dirt cheap products, and truthfully their packaging and products aren't bad at all. I recently got this in a swap box, and what better time to review this range than now :)

Reddish (slight coral) hue with warm gold shimmer

The lipstick applied very smoothly. It was unscented, which works for lots of people, but I love it when lipsticks have a slight scent to them. I really couldn't knock this product, considering it really only cost £3.50. I also like the sleek black packaging. This colour is slightly too warm for my cool skin tone (wonder why they cool it Coral Cool? The gold shimmer definitely makes this a warm colour), but now that I tried this range, I won't hesitate to pick up another colour sometime in the future.

ELF's website states...

"All our mineral makeup is 100% mineral based with no parabens, no preservatives and no chemical dyes."

That's definitely good to know. These lipsticks run £3.50, but ELF constantly runs great sales, so wait until then to pick up these lipsticks.

On a completely different note...

As I write this, NYC is getting torrential rain, and dealing with hurricane like weather. My thoughts are with all my friends and family (that includes all my online peoples!) a safe safe Sunday. I'm thinking of you all xx

Here I am again, a month later and back with my recycle message :) Just wanted to show you the amount of products that I used this month. I do this for many reasons. First, it just shows how much rubbish that one person can accumulate. Second, to show how easy it is to actually recycle. It seriously only takes a few seconds to recycle, and it makes a huge difference. It may not feel like it, but think of it this way. Being a part of the solution is much better than being a part of the problem :) So let's all be smart and eco-conscious beauty addicts and make our difference in the world.

This photo doesn't include the 3 bottles that I just gave to my mother in law for her to use.

Some product packaging is great for re-using, especially if the labels come off nice and clean. It's better than going out and buying those little travel plastic jars. Save yourself £1 here and there, and try to reuse bottles that look brand spanking new once they are cleaned out. My mother in law was thrilled to get the bottles, she said "You just saved me £3", and the inner frugalista and wanna be master recycler smiled :)

Also remember if you have a local Origins, take all your empties to them and don't forget to pick up your free samples.

I was recently talking to a friend about how she just tosses all her products (even full ones if she doesn't like it). That such a waste of a product. If you find that you tried a product and you don't like it, please don't bin it. Here are some suggestions on what you can do with those products you just don't like:

1. Donate to friends and family - Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean they won't

2. Try swapping the product on makeupalley.com - If you have no idea how to swap items, please check out my post about here to use as a guide.

3. If you have no one to donate your items too, check out your local women's shelter. These women need the basics, and why throw these products away when someone can use it, especially someone who's going through a tough time.

If you don't have a local shelter, try Give and Makeup. This is slowly becoming my favourite women's charity. You can find them at http://www.giveandmakeup.com/

4. If the products you don't want come from Origins, MAC or Lush, you can return the items back to them for their in-house recycling. There are incentives to returning "empties" to each of these companies.

5. Put an ad up on facebook , twitter, or even gumtree/craigslist for free products. I can bet money that you will get a sea of emails from people who would love to take things off your hands. With the way our economy is going, people are always looking for "free" things.

Those are 5 things that I would do.

If you have any other suggestions, please let me know and I'll update this post accordingly :)

Saturday, August 27, 2011

I literally just learned about this only a few weeks ago, and I can't believe I haven't shared this amazing program with you all.

Julep is a niche nail polish company in the states that developed this monthly nail polish subscription box called the Julep Maven Program. Basically every month you pay $19.99 and you get a sneak peek box of nail polishes and other products (worth over $40) that are customised to you based on the style quiz that you take. You also get 20% off purchases as well.

You can go to this link, to watch the video and take the quiz to get started.

I have heard such great things about their polishes and customer service, so I feel confident in telling you all about this program.

Also upon signing up to the website, you will get a 50% off your first Julep Maven Box voucher code. I have seen many reveals on the sneak peek box, and the value is much more than what you pay, and the colours all seem very trendy and beautiful!

I am no where an expert on haircare, so when I got this product I misread this to say hairspray instead of hairstay lol. Thank god I didn't just apply this directly to my roots.

I am going to just tell you ladies the truth. When I put this on my palm, I freaked out! I'm serious. It's not only abnormally cold, but the crackling seriously took me by surprise. I have no idea why it has to be this cold or crackle in order to be a styling foundation. I can appreciate that the Pomegranate and Pepper is suppose to be a heat protector, but what gives with the super cold temperature and crackling??? It's just an odd product. It smells lovely (citrusy), but the rest freaked me out. I did notice that my hair had a little more volume and slightly softer. So I'm going to conclude that the product works, but the execution and application is just odd. Different yes, odd yes. It's so odd, I almost want to use it as a gag weapon, because it's so freaking cold when it touches the skin haha.

The sporadic thunderstorms almost kept me from going into town today, but I had to get out of the house. I stopped by my usual stops today: Boots, Superdrugs, Debenhams, TK Maxx. Sadly, that's pretty much it for me in this town i'm in currently.

Here is my super tiny tiny haul for today.

Total Spent: £3

£1 for the Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Shampoo

£2 for the No 7 Beanie Nail Polish after the £5 off voucher (not for me, this is a gift)

£0 for the Celebrity slim strawberry diet shake

(There is a voucher at the back of the Superdrugs magazine)

I almost went to crazy at Superdrugs, but I really resisted all the good sales due to my ban.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Recently I showed you ladies about my awesome 80's retro cassette tape iphone case HA! I should have showed you my retro 80's digital watch as well teehee.My DH absolutely hates this watch, because he remembers it when it was popular in the 80's. Yes people, my DH is so much older than me haha. But I love it. I remember the 80's too when this was popular. But I was a kid and obviously parents weren't about to buy me a watch. So now at 31, I finally get my watch hahaha. I love it, I am picturing some really neon nails with this! Maybe even my Christian Louboutin neon yellow pumps too :)

Now this isn't everyone's cup of tea, and it's a tad masculine, but there is just something so odd and ugly about it that makes me love it just that much more! And for £5 posted, you can't knock that price.

Purchased from Asos during their final summer sale. I do love me some Asos, they have such a wide selection of accessories of all styles. You really can't beat that. Although it is quite overwhelming to me, but if you have a couple of hours to kill, Asos is some really awesome online window shopping!

Are you all sick of me talking about Models own yet? I promise I'll talk about something else soon :p xx But first I must show you my goodies. I did allow myself to break the ban for this sale, since the next sale will be next year probably and I just can't wait that long!